Israel forces raid, tighten security measures near Ramallah in latest West Bank assault

Israeli forces began encircling and imposing a siege on areas east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, tightening security measures in the village of Al-Mughayyir and the town of Turmus Ayya.

A larger number of Israeli soldiers were seen deployed in the area, Palestinian residents said, in response to an alleged shooting incident targeting Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military stormed both Al-Mughayyir and Turmus Ayya early on Thursday. Videos shared by residents on social media showed army vehicles approaching both locations amid fears of intensified incursions in the Ramallah area.

Residents said Israeli forces had begun raiding and researching their residences one by one, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language site.

Soldiers were also seen vandalising properties belonging to Palestinians, with one video showing an Israeli soldier hurling rocks at the glass of a vehicle belonging to a Palestinian family in Al-Mughayyir.

Amid the raid, soldiers were also seen uprooting Palestinian trees from the ground in the same village - in another assault on Palestinians and their land.

The army said the raid is being carried out in response to an alleged shooting incident near the illegal settlement Malachei Hashalom, built near Turmus Ayya.

According to The Times of Israel, a 20-year-old settler was lightly wounded.

In another statement, the army said another incident allegedly took place near the illegal outpost of Adei Ad, following confrontations between Palestinian residents and settlers.

Settlements, as well as outposts, are illegal under international law. The Israeli government, however, proceeds with building such communities in the occupied West Bank, displacing Palestinians and confiscating their land as a means to control more of their territory.

The incident followed provocations carried out by settler shepherds against residents of al-Mughayyir, including loudly playing Hebrew-language songs in the area, eyewitnesses told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The area has recently witnessed a series of organised attacks by settlers against residents, including the torching of homes and vehicles and the shooting of young men, as part of a wider assault on the West Bank in parallel with the war in Gaza.

Last week, Israeli forces shot and killed 18-year-old Hamdan Abu Aliya in Al-Mughayyir after Palestinian youth confronted Israeli military presence in the village.

A funeral for Abu Aliya was held a day later, with mourners gathering in the village waving the national flag of Palestine, as well as those of Hamas and Fatah, and chanted slogans such as: "With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you, martyr."

Elsewhere in the West Bank on Thursday, a Palestinian teenager was shot by Israeli forces in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of Hebron on Thursday afternoon.

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